The principle why dry powder and sand cannot be used to extinguish sodium chlorate fires
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The \"Safety Measures and Emergency Response Principles for Hazardous Chemicals Under Second Batch of Key Supervision\" clearly state that sand and dry powder should not be used for extinguishing fires. Sodium chlorate is a solid strong oxidizer – so why cannot sand be used to put out fires? Isn’t using sand to extinguish fires a universal solution? Are there any chemical principles at work here?
First of all, sand is not a universal solution; it cannot be used to extinguish fires caused by lithium combustion, nor can it be used to put out fires involving substances that tend to sublimate. Secondly, if a chemical is prone to exploding upon impact or friction, sand or dry powder should not be used for extinguishing it, in order to avoid causing friction and collisions.
Sodium chlorate dust can cause serious health hazards to humans; therefore, it might be to avoid the generation of dust. At the same time, sodium chlorate is highly soluble in water, which is likely why water is used to extinguish fires
Sodium chlorate is a combustion accelerator and is not flammable on its own. Oxygen is released when the temperature exceeds 300 degrees Celsius, but sodium chlorate has a high solubility; therefore, water is needed to dissolve the sodium chlorate that has not yet released oxygen. Sand and soil cannot cool down quickly to below 300 degrees, nor can they prevent the release of oxygen.
It is prohibited to use sand to seal explosives in the event of an accident.